A GROUP of 13 veterans of the Korean War will have their service recognised at a ceremony in Bradford.

The 'Ambassador for Peace Medal' presentation ceremony will award the members of the West Yorkshire branch of the British Korean Veterans Association (BKVA) the medal at the Midland Hotel on Saturday.

The Ambassador for Peace Medal was previously only presented to Korean War Veterans from the 21 participating UN countries who were returning to Korea as part of the 'Revisit Korea' programme established by the Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA).

The event in Bradford has been organised as Korean War veterans are having increasing difficulty travelling to the Far East due to age or ill health.

As a result, Korean Embassies are now able to organise such presentation events in the veterans' home countries, so as many can receive the honour as possible.

The medals will be presented to the veterans by Captain Juhyeon Park, Republic of Korea Defence Attache to the UK.

A group of 20 Korean-born students, who are studying at the University of Bradford, will also attend the event.

The Korean War, which ran from June 1950 to July 1953, was a conflict between North and South Korea.

The United Nations force, featuring 21 nations led by the USA, fought for the South and China, alongside the former Soviet Union, fought for the North.

The war started from the division of Korea at the end of the Second World War. The fighting ended on July 27, 1953 when the armistice agreement was reached.

Saturday's ceremony will be preceded by a luncheon attended by Captain Park, Major Stanley Hardy, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Roger L'Amie and and the Deputy Lady Mayoress Elizabeth Smith.

John Parker, 80, of Allerby Green, Woodside, Bradford, who is vice-president of the West Yorkshire Veterans Group and served in the Royal Army Service Corps in Korea as a driver, said: "It's nice for them to say thank you.

"A lot of us have not been able to go back to Korea to pick up our medals due to ill health or work commitments.

"I've never been back at all.

"The ceremony on Saturday is the next best thing to going back.

"It's important and nice for the Koreans to appreciate our services. They are so generous, its unbelievable.

"Our members come from Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield. About 20 of them come from the Bradford district."

The West Yorkshire branch of the BKVA, which has a total of 32 members, hold monthly meetings in Halifax.